If you notice there are several different angled skid marks on the road in the scene where the Bandit picks up Frog, you can see that they did a couple of takes of the T/A skidding to a stop and taking off again. The film's theme song, "East Bound and Down", was written virtually overnight by Reed. In fact, after Smokey and the Bandit became a box office hit, Pontiac saw a marked increase in their stock prices. When I was a kid, there was an old record from the 50s around the house that was a collection of radio and tv bloopers. One was a radio ad for a movie that went something like: . Except that shes not sagging. you can find it on amazon.com . and the Dixie Dance Kings, and Burts car was a 57 [56?] I was 10 when this movie came out and I loved it then and I still do. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 (No Ratings Yet) . Needham served as the driver for the stunt (in place of Reynolds), while Lada St. Edmund was in the same car (in place of Field). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. So why did they go with sound effects instead of the Trans Am's actually exhaust noise? The trip to Texarkana is uneventful; soon after leaving for the return trip to Georgia, The Bandit encounters Frog, played by Sally Field. Lets take a look. In 1976-78, while a high school student in Norwalk, CT, me and a few buddies would routinely drive up to Vista, NY, which was just over the state line. Hes fodder enough for his own article at some point. Chevy brought back the Z28, and cant say S&B was reason. Was it a heathen? Remember that Smokey and the Bandit was the 2nd biggest movie of the year, right after Star Wars. The comedy has been remastered to DVD standards. I distinctly remember my mother buying Coors and being asked if she lived in Missouri or Illinois by the cashier. Somebody locally is selling a Regis Plymouth Fury ex Florida Police with gasping 318 V8, he will for the right money toss in a 440 with it. The film's editors, Walter Hannemann and Angelo Ross, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. The sound came from a 1955 Chevrolet Custom, the same car that was used in Two-Lane Blacktop and American Graffiti, films launched in 1971 and 1973, respectively. Set with his . Please refresh the page and try again. Soon as I get home, first thing Im gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!. The other range car was a Chevette for people that wanted to learn on a manual transmission. At the time, using "fuck" would immediately require an R rating and this self-censorship allowed the film to avoid this rating and reach a much larger audience. How much did the Smokey and the Bandit car sell for? The three movie cars were destroyed during various stunts, so the promo car is the only surviving Trans Am connected to this film. New York, One time a friend and I drove back to Kentucky on leave rather than flying; no particular reason, we had plenty of time and wanted to see some of the country. I developed a pretty good bootheel accent during my time in New Madrid. And theres this nugget from the director of the coming new Shazam movie; I first watched Smokey on quiet swing shifts from the drivers seat of a 1977 Pontiac Le Mans patrol car, parked by thr back fence of the drive-in theater at the far end of town. [40] Major portions of the audio background have been modified with different engine sounds or tire squeals from the original film. [17], In 1977, Coors was unavailable for sale east of Oklahoma. Just do a search for Crown Victorias on your local CL. So, for years one, two, and three, he got a shiny new Pontiac. Two cars were reportedly badly damaged in early stunts in the film, while a third car was completely destroyed during the famous bridge jump scene. Anyway, on the trip east, we stopped at a grocery in Topeka, Kansas and bought 16-18 cases of Coors, all that we had room for in the car. Just after re-entering Georgia, Snowman is rescued by Bandit after being stopped by a Georgia State Patrol motorcycle trooper, and state and local police intensely pursue Bandit with roadblocks and a helicopter to track his movement. That is an excellent question. One of our favorite movies. Ive always wanted some sort of de-commission/ex unmarked cop car, something from the 70s preferably. Dont let his grumpiness fool you though; hes more than excited to provide the latest news and reviews on the most interesting cars in the industry. Wanting to promote the aesthetically modified 1977 model, but lacking cars owing to delays in production start-up, GM modified four 1976 Trans Ams with '77 spec bodywork and decals for the film. The decals were changed to 1977-style units, as evidenced by the engine size callouts on the hood scoop being in liters rather than cubic inches, as had been the case in 1976. In the U.K., the heavily dubbed version was shown for several years, particularly by the BBC. Cause theyre thirsty in Atlanta Even when the 2nd gen was already coasting on fumes, and defanged, and after the reasonably shitty Smokey and the Bandit sequel, Pontiac managed to pump out 107,000 Trans Ams in 1980 and 70,000 for the 2nd gen Trans Ams swan song in 1981. The original Blues Brothers movie from 1980 is a classic, and fans were excited when a sequel was announced in 1998. . Somehow this store had a regular supply. Not everything was Pontiac, as evidenced by this 1973 Plymouth Satellite coupe (CC here). [6] It would become one of Reed's biggest hits and his signature song.[7]. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1980 ERTL SMOKEY & THE BANDIT PONTIAC FIREBIRD DIECAST CAR police car set at the best online prices at eBay! I own all three films on a dvd called the Smokey and The Bandit Pursuit Pack. In its place was the nonsensical scum bum. The voice over actor? Im probably in the minority as usual, but I prefer the Black and Gold 50th Anne. However, the scene and the obscured expletive were played for comedy value and written as such, with the passing truck being the gag of the scene more than a way to avoid the censors. I drive a conversion van. She is a runaway bride, sitting on the side of the road in her 1973 Chevrolet Impala coupe. Did I mention how much I enjoy reading all the back stories and niggly details I can only get here ? In particular, the scene where Sheriff Justice unknowingly encounters the Bandit in the "choke and puke" (a roadside diner) was not in the original story but was rather Gleason's idea. I was just tweaking Jason. Gleason has a treasure trove of hilarious lines and it was this movie that started my love affair of cars back in the early 1980s. A 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix with a Buick Electra behind it. As such, it took a lot of sweet talking by former stuntman Needham for Pontiac to cough up three Trans Ams and three LeManses. Actually, there were 2 future Dukes stars in the movie: Ben Jones (Cooter) was in an early scene helping Big Enos find Bandit. I dont know whose idea was to replace the wicked Two Lane Blacktop Chevy sourced engine sound effects with an authentic 200 horsepower muffled smogger 400, but that sumbitch is a scumbum!!! Smokey and the Bandit was all realistic and non fictional, and it still was a big hit that brought a lot of money to Hal Needham and the actors, to pay Pontiac back. Somewhere along the line, the company acquired a new president who told Reynolds: Im the new president, and I dont like your movies. The commercials were produced after Stewart mentioned that the movie was one of his favorites.[39]. A segment of the CMT program Reel Eats used a sloppy joe-style recipe consisting of seasoned ground beef, corn, and sour cream. (Still). When Im driving the Bandit Trans Am while playing one of my many Forza Motorsport games I always put that song on. The Kenworth even achieves a trifecta of sorts, as it gave the first dent to Sheriff Justices LeMans. Producer Hal Needham intended Smokey and the Bandit to be one of the best product placement films of all time. Three actors from the main cast of The Dukes of Hazzard appear in small uncredited roles in Smokey and the Bandit: Ben Jones, John Schneider, and Sonny Shroyer (who played a police officer in both). Please to note I didnt say _I_ didnt like them as I was in my 20s then (early 1970s) so I hustled my self and my Russian girlfriend right on down to the cinema every time Burt Reynolds had a new flick , I personally loved his movies even the chick flicks like The Man Who Loved Women , I just had to hear earfuls from everyone else about how awful he / those movies were.. We even bought one of those Pontiac Police Specials on auction from. ", "The Bandit Run Brought to you by Restore A Muscle Car", "Stewart plays off 'Smokey and the Bandit in Mobil 1 ad", "Smokey and the Bandit: 40th Anniversary Edition", "Smokey and the Bandit II, Box Office Information", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smokey_and_the_Bandit&oldid=1142751918, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, All articles that may contain original research, Articles that may contain original research from April 2022, Articles needing additional references from September 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["Bandit"] , "Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["Bandit"] Burt Reynolds, Voice ["Smokey"] , "Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["Bandit"] Burt Reynolds, Voice ["Smokey"] Jackie Gleason), George Reynolds as Sheriff George Branford, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 04:45. It just seems wrong to see that car in any fashion without hearing that song. . Dodge pitchman Sheriff Joe Higgins. In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. [11] The movie was primarily filmed in Georgia, in the cities of McDonough, Jonesboro, and Lithonia. As deals were made for the actors and producers, the studio wanted to renegotiate my deal. Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox would bring several cases after playing on the West Coast, by stashing them in the equipment trunks on the team's plane. I have to admit, thats a pretty fantastic story, and as a major movie star, Im sure Burt Reynolds was able to figure out another way to acquire a means of transportation. You will receive a verification email shortly. Mr. Reynolds made a bunch of low budget films before this , all had wild chase scenes with cop cars crashing & going into swamps . The next movie, Smokey and the Bandit II, featured the same cast and an updated version of the Trans Am.The second version of the Smokey and the Bandit car was a 1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that had a similar paint job, the updated front end, and gold "Turbine" style wheels.The 1980 models featured a turbocharged 4.9L Pontiac V8, but that still wasn't enough power for the stunt personnel. I will confess that by the time this movie was out, I was a Mopar guy. It was something regarding distribution limits. I ended up buying a 1969 Cadillac ambulance a year later! That is why there are not any left. I am still drawn to the shape of these cars, and others that have that long and low look about them. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Get ready to tear up the highway with the Bandit (Burt Reynolds), a fun-loving, fast-talking trucker who takes on his craziest haul yet - delivering 400 case. This same restaurant was used for a scene in the 1983 Stephen King Movie Christine, which was ultimately cut in the final film (it can be viewed as a deleted scene on the DVD release of the film). A couple of years ago, I was sitting around on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it was on TV. The paint code for each truck was coffee brown with gold trims and the 48-foot (15m) mural trailer used was manufactured by Hobbs Trailers in Texas with a non-operational Thermo King Refrigeration unit. Arguably the most iconic Pontiac Firebird in history. As a feature-length car chase, the car was as much of a star as Burt Reynolds, and the film gave birth to the cult of the Trans Am. The third-generation Firebird was introduced in 1982, a full two years later than planned. Heres how it works. When Smokey & The Banditfirst aired on television in the early 1980s, the Gleason phrase sum bitcha regional butchering of son of a bitchhad to be dubbed out. It cornered amazingly well for such a large car, but the posi rear end emitted ominous sounds so I passed on it (I was in college and didnt have any place to do major repairs). I looked at a Bluesmobile worthy 1977 Plymouth Grand Fury, the big ones, it was an ex Florida Highway Patrol car, but it had a pretty good amount of rust and it was pretty beat. The pair arrive in Texarkana one hour early and load up the truck, but just as they head back, Carrie, a runaway bride, intercepts Bandit and jumps in his car, unwittingly making him an indirect target of Sheriff Buford T. Justice, a career Texas lawman whose witless son Junior was to have married Carrie. These Furys, as well as some of the LeMans units, have hood scoops. Other sources in East Texas (from whence Sheriff Justice hails) are familiar with the popular regional delicacy known as the Diablo Sandwich. Im pretty sure that the car that barks second when he takes off with Frog had to be a stick. Burt Reynolds as the Bandit can always count on the truckers on the other end of his C.B. Rockford Files also featured Firebird, and was on since 1974, and Fs sold well despite gas crunch I and inflation. The scenes set in Texarkana were filmed in Jonesboro and the surrounding area and many of the chase scenes were filmed in the surrounding areas on Highway 54 between Fayetteville and Jonesboro for a majority of the driving scenes, Mundy's Mill Road, Main Street in Jonesboro, Georgia State Route 400, I-85 (Pleasant Hill exit) and in McDonough. The uncut version is the best. Round and dumpy, just like the Colonnade LeMans! I really enjoyed this discussion. Anyone with insight is encouraged to share their knowledge on this. Smokey and the Bandit was the second highest-grossing domestic film of 1977 in the United States. 12 A Total Of 3 Trans Ams Were Destroyed During Filming. We also learn that every launched satellite will eventually fall back to Earth, such as this 1972 Plymouth Satellite (CC here). One guy did a while ago a fan-made trailer of Smokey & the Bandit 4. (it did taste a lot better than Bud as I recall). He is hired by Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos to transport a truck load of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas, back to Georgia in 28 hours. By the film's ending, the final surviving Trans Am and LeMans were both barely running and the other cars had become parts donors to keep them running. Most of the dialogue was improvised on set. We just watched this with the kids the other week, along with Cannonball Run. It opened in other Northern states at the end of July. The owner restored it and sold it at the Scottsdale 2016 auction by Barrett-Jackson. Filmmakers destroyed 230 cars in the filming of 'Furious 7.' Smokey And The Bandit: A Car-chase Classic. This movie just showed how much an urban legend the supposed unobtainability had become. thebandit77transam 2009-04-14 14:04. andre1969 wrote Pontiac supplied 5 brand-new cars for "Smokey and the Bandit". While watching the movie (yes, I did have to diligently research this article), one shot seemed to indicate this may be a dummy scoop. Ive since read on the internet that it wasnt illegal so much as a practical thing with it being shipped in refrigerated trucks. With Reynolds' salary at $1 million, Needham was left with only $3.3 million to make the film. I certainly hope the guy hired to drive that 74 Ford Torino wagon was paid well for his work. In a rare public appearance, Burt Reynolds revealed how many cars they wrecked making Smokey and Wealthy Texan Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos have sponsored a racer in Atlanta's Southern Classic and want to celebrate in style when he wins, so they are seeking a trucker willing to bootleg Coors Beer to Atlanta for their refreshment. The theme music "East Bound and Down" was sung and co-written by Reed (credited under his birth name, Jerry Hubbard) and Dick Feller. According to an interview with Susie McIver Ewing on The RetroZest Podcast, she was picked to play the role of Hot Pants Hilliard after the dailies footage (shot in the Atlanta area) of the original actress playing the role was inadvertently destroyed on its way from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Required fields are marked *. We stopped in that same Safeway later on the way back home from southern Cal, and they had a huge display of cases of Coors out on the floor near the checkstands. It outsold its Chevrolet Camaro counterpart for the first time. Reynolds actively pushed for her casting after Universal initially resisted, claiming Field was not attractive enough. February 27, 2023 . The worldwide gross is estimated at over $300 million. Mr. Reynolds elevated the dreck that he appeared in to a higher level, that is, enjoyable. Of course, it's difficult to asses whether these small decals did something to change buyer perception about the Trans Am, but it's an interesting part of the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am's history. I loved the fact that Jackie Gleasons brown Lemans had a blue vinyl interior and it even had the luxury cushion steering wheel! As a former Club Wagon pilot, I happen to like his Econoline. Not all the police cars had hood scoops. I prefer Buford T. Justices 1980 Pontiac Bonneville and his 1983 Pontiac Bonneville in Smokey and The Bandit III. Always a favorite. Thanks for this, Jason. Both sequels used another Trans Am, not a Cadillac Eldorado, as seen below. Smokey & The Bandit Police Cars. I will confess, however, that it was a fun movie to watch and I have caught it on TV a time or two in recent years with my kids. All pictures from the movie were acquired from www.imcdb.org, Fred Lives!!! Got Greyhound cutout decals on the rear side windows. The soundtrack album was released in 1977 on vinyl, cassette, and 8-track through MCA Records. The theatrical release has a few lines deleted, including an edit in which Sheriff Justice tells a state trooper to "fuck off" after the sheriff called his vehicle "a piece of crap". This was the lull between Gas Crisis I and II, 1976-78, and Boomers were wanting stylish cars. As a kid that T/A, the General Lee, and KITT were largely responsible for defining my taste in cars and that carries through to today. The Trans Am used for said jump was equipped with a booster rocket, the same type that was used by Evel Knievel during his failed Snake River Canyon jump. If you watched the second clip above, this truck should look familiar. From living there for my first two decades, I noticed the accent didnt get going good until around Sikeston (not Saxton as it would seem) and it progressed as you went deeper into the Bootheel. Some people have ripped this film as being thin on plot; others have called it a documentary about life south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Nuts about any form of classic motorsport and muscle cars, Ciprian's currently working on a time machine that would take him back to the 1960s for a long vacation alongside Dan Gurney and Jim Hall. The rub? On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 78% rating based on 32 reviews. Needing a fast set of wheels to distract law enforcement, Reynolds character purchases this 1977 Pontiac Trans-Am. I am pretty sure it was filmed in Florida, when I-75 was under construction so they could use the highways while empty. No, the T/A was selling fine before the movie, and the black/gold package dates to 1976, a full year before the movie was out in summer 77. Smokey & The Bandit is the greatest movie of the 20th Century! The man does get around. While the Snowman drives the truck carrying the beer, the Bandit drives a Pontiac Trans Am to distract law enforcement (called blocking) and keep the attention off the Snowman. Naturally, it fetched the highest price with a . I guess the Trans Am proved to have more staying power than the hot 71 Ford in the earlier movie. In the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit, a high-speed chase ensues between the police and the Bandit (Burt Reynolds). In Smokey and the Bandit, there were eight 1977 Trans-Am cars and approximately the same number of police cars (but some said ten). Burt Reynolds' 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Sold for $240,000. The Bandit Run quickly became a fixture, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the movie with a special 2017 screening of the film attended by Reynolds and a recreation of the jump undertaken by the Bandit and Frog across a river. The scene featuring the racetrack was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on Atlanta's south side. I still think its more entertaining than Star Wars. All I know is, at the time, if you lived in the east, Coors was some really special beer not unlike microbrews are now. When Smokey and the Bandit first aired on American network television in the early 1980s, censors were faced with the challenge of toning down the raw language of the original film. How many cars destroyed Blues Brothers 2000? A CC for a 1973 Grand Ville convertible can be found here. Nice job, I know its cheesy as heck but I love this movie and still tend to watch it when I see its on TV. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. [10], Principal photography of the film began on August 30, 1976. The third film which had no involvement from either Hal Needham or Sally Field and contained only a short cameo appearance by Burt Reynolds revolved entirely around Jackie Gleason's character, was panned by critics, and was a box office bomb, earning only $7 million against a $9 million budget.[41][42][43]. Film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film a good rating (3 stars out of a possible 4) and characterized it as "about as subtle as The Three Stooges, but a classic compared to the sequels and countless rip-offs which followed". The scene where Sheriff Justice's car has the door knocked off by a passing semi-truck was shot on Georgia State Route 75, 3 miles (4.8km) north of Helen. [28] However, this is inaccurate; within seconds of Bandit picking her up, Frog tells him "there is a wedding in search of a bride" and goes on to explain her ill-advised romance with Junior, as the Bandit holds up the CB mic for the Snowman to hear. When it is finally torn off along with the car's roof in the impact with the girder, the missing fender still reappears later on in the film. Wouldnt the accent give you away? He has no less than four movies listed as coming out, and they run the gamut from romantic drama to family comedy to horror mystery to action thriller. Henry Corden, the voice of cartoon character Fred Flintstone. Free shipping for many products! American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment, CC Outtake: The CC House, and With a New Recent Exotic Addition, CC TV Outtake: This Used Car Commercial Didn't Make It On The Air, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cODPt3T0cHE. The cars were wrecked on purpose to create the illusion of a high-speed chase. I only got one of them LOL. I was in the Air Force during this era, stationed in California. The cashier never batted an eye as she sold us the mass quantities of suds. However, the U.S. government introduced new emission controls in 1972, and automakers had to step back. Justice. Producers of Smokey and the Bandit wrecked 26 cars while filming the movie in 1977. . Needham originally planned the film as a low-budget B movie with a production cost of $1 million,[4] with Reed as the Bandit. Well, at least that's what you saw in the movie. Im east bound, just watch ol Bandit run.. But would the black and gold T/As be as desirable today without the movie? I know that Trans Am that jumped that bridge broke the axle when it landed. As if GM owes them something. January 24, 2019 100 comments. This gives rise to various continuity errors with Justice's patrol car, which during some chase sequences is shown with a black rear fender, which then reverts to the car's bronze color again in later scenes.